"Food for me was a connecting link to my grandmother, to my childhood, to my past. And what I found out is that for everybody, food is a connector to their roots, to their past in different ways. It gives you security; it gives you a profile of who you are, where you come from." - Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Sambhaar - This is Gujarati instant Athanu or pickle mix. It is a must have in all the Gujarati pantries. The recipes differ from family to family. You can make yearly pickle or one time use pickle by this amazing mixture. Since it already has salt in it, sometimes, it is also eaten like a dry chutney or adding little oil or plain yogurt to make impromptu wet chutney.
This is my mom-in-law's recipe. She sends me the pickle masala, so the picture above, is of her pickle masala.Gujarati Sambhaar/Pickle MasalaIngredients
2 cups Rai Kuriya (coarsely ground mustard seeds)
1 cup Methi Kuriya (Coarsely ground fenugreek seeds)
1/4 cup whole black peppercorn
2 cups coarse Chili powder
1 tsp Asafoetida
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 cups oil
1 1/2 cup coarse saltMethod
1. Heat oil in a kadai/wok to the boiling point.
2. Let it cool down.
3. Pour the rest of the ingredients in the completely cooled oil.
5. store in an air-tight container.Note –
1. Do not add the ingredients when the oil is hot. else it will turn black and also the steam/droplets will be formed. That will destroy the masala completely.
2. You can use the above masala to make annual kairi/raw mango pickle or impromptu pickle of almost any raw vegetables from carrots, cauliflowers, turnip, kohlrabi, jicama. I recently made kohlrabi pickle using this pickle masala.